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Racing with big gears?
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Now before I start: This isn't about Ironman racing. This is purely about Olympic and Sprint distances.

What's your take on the idea? In a training camp a while back we did some testing, and found out that at higher gear/lower cadence we were producing more wattage at a lower HR. Now this seems like a perfect reason to use bigger gears when racing, especially since it's only 20k and I only have to run a 5k afterwards.

The biggest problem is they have gear restrictions for juniors. My biggest gear is 52-16 (haha =\). Next year it'll be 52-15.

Does anyone know the cadence I have to spin at for higher speeds (ie 38kph+)
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Re: Racing with big gears? [freestyle] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah, gear restrictions are a poorly concieved notion, most juniors are stll mashing in a 52-14, and the ones who aren't don't need to be told what gear to ride. The better riders also train all year with bigger gears, so the rule only effects such a small amount of total ride time that it does little to accomplish its intended purpose (whatever it may be). I knew road races had this rule for juniors, but i never had to deal with it when racing in triathlons (both junior draft legal and illegal).

I'm not too great with kilo-mph conversions, but 38 kph + about 23-24mph right? You can probably still mantian a relativly low cadence in a 52-15 at that speed. To give you an idea of what the junior road racers have to deal with at nationals: we were going 38mph on a slight uphill through the feed zone last year. (thank you team hottubes...assholes, but i guess that's racing) in our 52-14's.
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Re: Racing with big gears? [freestyle] [ In reply to ]
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In answer to you question, there is an excellent gear calculator at: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/

But why do you assume that a lower heart rate at a given power is always preferable to a higher one? I can see lactate accumulation, rate of glycogen depletion, slow twitch/fast twitch muscle fiber utilization as being possible reasons for gear selection but I'm not sure of the value of basing gear selection on heart rate per se.
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Re: Racing with big gears? [Ben in FL] [ In reply to ]
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it really depends on whether you are considering draft legal or non draft races...

in draft legal races, I would go with the gearings used in cycling...to give you an idea of what speed you can reach with small gears, we had a cycling coach where I raced in Europe, that said that it's pointless to use the big chainrings until you can spin your 42x16 at 40km/h (24.8mph)...that meant at least 4000km (nearly 2500mi) of small chainring stuff in the winter.

in draft free races, many of the top triathletes (or time trialists ) will use much bigger gears...that does not mean you can't reach the same speed with smaller gears (heck to spin out a 53x11 you have to go really fast or you really need to work on cadence!)
but it seems to save the legs a bit for the run (once again in draft free conditions).
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Re: Racing with big gears? [freestyle] [ In reply to ]
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There was a long thread that dealt with this type of question a little while ago - basic point was that a slightly higher HR was no big deal, the important thing was to not have to recruit too many fast-twitch muscle fibers (which one is likely to do mashing big gears) because it will ruin your run.

I wonder if someone tested RPE (admittedly subjective and error-prone) or serum lactate versus power at different cadences what the "optimal" cadence range would be.

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Re: Racing with big gears? [jhc] [ In reply to ]
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Using big gears uses your legs and smaller gears uses your heart and lungs. When using the legs you run the danger of using up glycogen and there fore potentially decreasing your run potential because your legs will not recover as well as heart and lungs. You can produce more watts with big gears but a good effecient rider can produce similar wattage with smaller gears. This said everyone is different and must find what works for them. Try going out on a tt using a big gear followed by a run say 5k then several days later under similar conditions repeat in a smaller gear. On both occasions collect data power output speed cadance hr etc and also how you felt physically and mentally during and after both efforts. This will givew you an idea what may work for you. good luck
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Re: Racing with big gears? [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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your gearing should reflect the course altitude gain, wind, heat, your HR etc., not any set gear combination ... too many variables in my opinion. I pedal at my LT+3 beats and 90RPM, whatever gearing is needed.
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Re: Racing with big gears? [freestyle] [ In reply to ]
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ok so gear restrictions aren't the end all be all for developing riders, but the key to going fast is spinning big gears.

If you can wind up your 53x11 to 90 rpm, you'll be fast, but to get fast, you don't start in the 53x11 and try to start at 40 rpm and go up.

Leg speed first.

Power at 90 rpm in the 52x15 is a good start.

One of my best results came at the end of a 155km road race. My Mavic Mektronic shifters has stopped working about 10km into the race leaving me with a 42x13 and a 53x13 as gear options.

I spun along most of the day in the 42x13, only shifting to the big ring when my rpm was well over 110. At the end of the day, when I needed the push, I was able to twist up that 52x13 and stay clear of my own team's sprinters as the lead out man. I had fresher legs despite being gearless for the past rolling 130+ km.

My heartrate average was high, but my reserves were as well.

I'd suggest some runs off the bike after your low rpm TTs in training. Check your splits with real results, not with a HRM.

-SD

https://www.kickstarter.com/...bike-for-the-new-era
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Re: Racing with big gears? [jhc] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
There was a long thread that dealt with this type of question a little while ago - basic point was that a slightly higher HR was no big deal, the important thing was to not have to recruit too many fast-twitch muscle fibers (which one is likely to do mashing big gears) because it will ruin your run.
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